now/sweden

Freaks is the third release from Qoph, a Swedish psychedelic rock band on Transubstans Records. Basically, all I needed to say was Transubstans Records and most of you regular readers of SoT would have assumed this band was from Sweden and played in a retro style, and you of course would have been correct. Qoph are comprised of Filip Norman (guitars), Rustan Geschwind (vocals). Federico de Costa (drums), and Patrik Persson (bass), and together they lay down some interesting sounds here on Freaks

Imagine a cross between The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and early Soundgarden and you have an idea of what to expect with Freaks. Trippy, fuzz toned guitars permeate “Hearts & Sorrows” and “In Your Face”, while the crunchy “Ride”, with its heavy riffs and squealing saxophone, comes across like a midnight jam session between Soundgarden, Jimmy Page, and John Coltrane. Geschwind’s vocals are a cross between Chris Cornell, Robert Plant, and Jim Morrison, very expressive and fitting every aspect of the bands music. Some of the mellower, more haunting songs such as “Seconds & Minutes” and “Feverland” work quite well too, and ” The weirdness to come” even has some space rock elements mixed in with the heavy arrangements. The most adventurous track though might be the lengthy closer “Remedy”, complete with jam-like guitar patterns and mysterious sax explorations, a must hear for any fan of psychedelic rock.

Solid stuff here on Freaks, a very enjoyable album that will certainly appeal to psych lovers of all ages.
1. Hearts & sorrows (5:28)
2. Seconds & minutes (3:02)
3. In your face (4:56)
4. Ride (3:37)
5. Feverland (4:35)
6. The weirdness to come (5:13)
7. Freaks (4:36)
8. Remedy (4:44)
9. The devil rides out (7:11)

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